Programmed dispenser

ABSTRACT

A programmed dispenser particularly useful for the dispensation of prescribed pharmaceuticals to hospital patients and having a cabinet containing individually coded drawers for the pharmaceuticals and an indexed selector means adapted to periodically receive the cabinet to thereby open certain drawers into a dispensing position.

[1 1] 3,744,867 [451 July 10, 1973 PROGRAMME!) DISPENSER [76] Inventor:Joseph D. Shaw, 508 Church St.,

Brownsville, Pa. 15417 22 Filed: Apr. 3, 1972 211 App]. No.: 240,869

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 99,165, Dec.17, I970,

abandoned.

[52] US. Cl 312/234, 312/35, 116/121 [51] Int. Cl. A47b 67/02 [58] Fieldof Search 221/4, 13, 69, 87, 221/89; 312/209, 234, 35, 234.2, 234.5;116/121 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,537,422 11/1970Moe 116/121 3,618,559 1l/l97l Moe ..ll6/l2l Primary ExaminerStanley H.Tollberg Attorney-Walter S. Murray [5 7] ABSTRACT A programmed dispenserparticularly useful for the dispensation of prescribed pharmaceuticalsto hospital patients and having a cabinet containing individually codeddrawers for the pharmaceuticals and an indexed selector means adapted toperiodically receive the cabinet to thereby open certain drawers into adispensing position.

7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures I I /,a

Pmmcnw 3.744.867

SHEU2BF2 INVENTOR Josey/2 D. J/zaw PROGRAMMED DISPENSER This is acontinuation of application Ser. No. 99,165 filed Dec. I7, 1970 nowabandoned.

The present invention relates to a programmed dispenser and particularlyto a time coded cabinet device for dispensing medication which is bestsuited for use in hospitals whose personnel dispense large quantities ofdifferent medication to many different patients at irregular timeintervals during a day or throughout a series of days.

It is the primary object of the invention to provide a prescribedmedicinal dispenser that is portable between a hospital pharmacy and theward nursing station therefor and which will serve as a positivemedication dispensing reminder of the administration time and theprescribed dosage of medication for each of a plurality of patientsbeing cared for in that particular hospital ward.

Another object of the invention is to provide a portable medicinecabinet with sliding drawers containing pharmaceuticals which willpositively control the dispensation of said medicinals to the properpatients by means which when periodically operated will indicate to thehospital attendant at the proper time the pharmaceuticals to bedisbursed to particular patients.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a multidrawer cabineta time coding means for each drawer in combination with a decoding casewhich cooperates with the cabinet to present at a particular time allthe individual pharmaceutical containing drawers to be dispensed at thattime.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists inthe construction, arrangement, and combination of elements ashereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the programmed dispensing device of thisinvention with its cooperating parts in non-dispensing positions,certain wall portions being broken away and shown in section.

FIG. 2 is a fragmental, rear elevational view of the cabinet part of thedevice with the coded drawers held therein.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section taken laterally through the device withits parts in decoded dispensing positions.

FIG. 4 is a fragmental, elevational view of the selector board for thedevice shown in FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings.

FIG. 5 is a greatly enlarged section showing a detail of my device.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged section like FIG. 3 showing a modification of mydispensing device.

FIG. 7 is a greatly enlarged section showing a detail of the drawerstructure for the device shown in FIG. 6.

Many pharmaceuticals are prescribed for each of a number of hospitalpatients in a ward for periodic dispensation in uniform amounts and thispresents a distribution control problem to both the pharmacist and tothe attendants at the ward s nursing station. In the embodiment of theinvention shown in FIGS. 1-5 of the drawings, my programmed dispenser isrepresented as a conventional, rectangular cabinet 10 preferably smallenough to be readily portable by hand and having a number ofcompartments 1] arranged in both horizontal and vertical rows within thecabinet. Each compartment is adapted to slidably receive a drawer 12having the usual hand pull l3 and a front wall 14 carrying an indexframe 15. The frame is adapted to removably hold an identification carddisplaying, for example, the name of a patient, his or her hospital roomnumber, the identification of the drug contained in the drawer and otherdata relating to the administration of and the recipient of theparticular pharmaceutical. As best shown in FIG. 2 the rear of thecabinet is open, except for a marginal flange 16, and interconnectedvertical flanges 17 which form rear stops for the drawers 12 in thecabinet.

Each drawer has a lateral wall such as a back wall 18 having two lateralrows of holes 19 and 20 formed therethrough, the holes in each row beingpreferably equally spaced apart and preferably numbering twelve (12)holes to the row. lndicia are marked on the back of each drawer (FIG. 2)to identify one row 19 of holes as pertaining to the AM hours of the daywhile the other row 20 has indicia thereon identifying it with the PMhours of a day. It will also be noted that the horizontal row of AMholes 19 are closer to the top of the drawer back than are the PM row 20of holes with respect to the bottom of the drawer, for the purpose to bedescribed hereinafter.

With reference to FIG. 3 of the drawings, it should be noted that eachdrawer has a lateral divider 21 near the rear wall 18 to provide aclearance space 22 and a pharmaceutical containing space 23 for thedrawer.

The cabinet 10 with all its drawers 12 in their closed positions shownin FIG. 1 is adapted to be entered into a decoding case 24, said casehaving internal dimensions adapted to snugly and slidably receive theexternal dimensions of the cabinet. A side wall 25 of the case 24 has avertical slot 26 formed in its rear portion for the reception of alaterally slidable, selector board 27. As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 4the board 27 has a number of pins 28 projecting at right angles from onemajor face thereof, said pins being arranged in horizontal and verticalrows corresponding to similar rows of drawers held in the cabinet withpreferably one pin assigned to each drawer. The selector board 27 isadapted for controlled, intermittent lateral movement across the insiderear portion of the case by an indexing means shown in FIG. 5 as aspring detent 29 mounted in the comer of the case adjacent the bottomend of the slot 26. The spring detent alternately cooperates with a rowof twelve (12) teeth 30 or 31 each formed in a longitudinal edge 32 and33, respectively, of the board adjacent diagonally opposed cornerstherein. The teeth in each row are spaced apart in regular incrementscorresponding to the spaces between the holes in the rows 19 and 20through the back walls of the drawers so that when the board is movedlaterally one tooth, the pins 28 in the board will be advanced one holein the rows in their respective drawers.

As best shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings, the edge 33 of the board 27opposed to the teeth 30 is provided with 12 calibrations 34corresponding to the AM hours of the day while the longitudinal edge 32of the board opposed to the teeth 31 is provided with calibrations 35corresponding to the PM hours of a day.

The board is adapted to be turned longitudinal edgefor-longitudinal edgefor alternate entry into the slot 26 and to this end a pair of entranceslots 36 (FIG. 1) is provided for each horizontal row of pins 28 as eachrow will be entered at different levels when the board is turnededge-for-edge within the casing.

As best shown in FIG. 3 a particular drawer is time coded by means of aplug 37 removably mounted in a particular hole or holes in the AM and/orPM rows 19 or 20, respectively, of the drawer.

In operation an identification card is made out for each patient in aparticular room of a ward served by a nursing station, including thepharmaceutical and the time or times of administering it. A pharmacistplaces the identification card in the index frame of each drawer andthen places the prescribed number of a given pharmaceutical in thedrawer and codes the particular drawer for the time or times ofadministering said pharmaceuticalby inserting plugs in the coding rows19 and 20 of the drawer at the proper indicated places. A cabinet thusprepared with a plurality of drawers therein is taken to the nursingstation and an attendant at the station will then operate .the selectorboard 27 at each hour of the day by referring the AM or PM calibrationswith the edge of the slot 26, the detent means positively locating theboard at the proper lateral space for the pins to enter correspondingholes in the drawers. The cabinet is then slid into the case 24 and if aparticular pharmaceutical is to be administered to a particular patientat the coded time a pin 28 will contact a plug 37 and push the drawerforwardly to an open position on the cabinet thereby visibly indicatingto the attendant that the drug in that opened drawer is to beadministered to the named patient from that drawer. In the event a drugis not to be administered at that selected hour the pin will merelyenter an unplugged hole in the drawer and the said drawer will remainunmoved and closed in the cabinet.

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 of the drawings, a modification of mydevice is illustrated wherein the selector device comprises a pin 38insertable into one of the lateral rows of holes formed in the backwalls of the drawers that are identical to the rows of holes 19 and 20in the drawers of the preferred device. These pins when contacted by apin 28 on the selector board 27 will push the drawer l2 forwardly to anopened position indicating that pharmaceuticals therein are to bedispensed at the particular hour at which the board is manually set. Itwill be noted that the pin 38 in the lowermost drawer 12 is longer thanthe pins shown in the two uppermost drawers which adapts it to move thedrawer farther out of the cabinet to thereby indicate to the attendantthat a different pharmaceutical dosage, or the like,'is to beadministered from that drawer at that time. It will be noted that thedrawers 12 shown in FIG. 6 have hinged covers 39 and that the drawerpulls 13 are formed on the forward ends of said covers. The preferredhinge forthe covers 39 is shown best in FIG. 7 wherein a cylindricalball portion 40 formed on the cover is receivable in a socket 41 formedin the drawer back wall.

The AM position of the decoding board 27 is illustrated in full lines inFIG. 6 while the dotted lines shown the inverted PM positions of thedecoding board and drawers from the same decoding position of theselector board in the case 24.

Although my programmed dispenser has been shown and described herein asit pertains to the administration of pharmaceuticals in hospitals it iscontemplated that the dispenser could be used to program the performanceof surgical operations with the proper instruments contained in thecoded drawers or the dispenser could be useful in certain manufacturingprocesses requiring operational increments and the dispensation of largequantities of different items to different stations, or the like. Insome instances the prescribed medication is kept in a locked separatecabinet and in such cases the front wall 14 of a programmed drawer 12(FIG. 6) could be provided with a hook 42 to removably hold a key 43that will unlock the separate cabinet 7 for access to the prescribedmedication.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

1. In combination with a generally rectangular cabinet having a numberof compartments therein for slidably receiving a plurality of drawerswhich includes:

a. a back wall for each drawer having a lateral row of spaced apartcoding means formed thereon,

b. a decoding case having an open front and adapted to slidably receivethe cabinet therethrough,

c. a selector mounted for intermittent lateral movement in the rear ofthe case,

d. a plurality of cooperative coding means on one major face of theselector and each said means positioned for association with a row ofcoding means on a drawer,

. indexing means between the case and the selector controlling thelateral advancement of the selector in the case,

f. and means removably mounted in predetermined positions along thecoding means on each drawer and associated with the cooperative codingmeans on the selector to slide the associated drawer out of the cabinetinto an opened dispensing position when the cabinet is slid into thecase.

2. In a dispensing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the spacedapart coding means is a row of spaced apart holes formed in said backwall of each drawer and the cooperative coding means are pins mounted onthe selector and each adapted to normally pass through the holes in adrawer.

3. In a dispensing apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein the meansremovably mounted in the coding means on a drawer is a removable plug.

4. In dispensing apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein the meansremovably mounted in the coding means on a drawer is a removable pin.

5. In a dispensing apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein the spacedapart coding means on each drawer is a plurality of longitudinallyspaced, lateral rows, each row being spaced at different distances froma lateral edge of the back wall of each drawer, and the selector ismounted for alternating the cooperative coding means thereon with therows of coding means on each drawer.

6. In a dispensing apparatus:

a. a cabinet containing a number of compartments,

b. a plurality of dispensing units each slidably disposed in acompartment,

0. a lateral wall for each unit having a lateral row of spaced apartcoding means formed thereon, I

d. a decoding case adapted to slidably receive the cabinet,

e. a selector mounted for intermittent lateral movement in the case,

f. a plurality of cooperative coding means on a major face of theselector facing the cabinet and each said means positioned forassociation with a row of coding means on the lateral wall of a unit,and

wherein the coding means on the selector are pins extending uniformdistances from the major face of said selector, and the means removablymounted in predetermined positions along the coding means on eachlateral wall of each unit are plugs having different lengths. t i i mgUNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE (IERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION p t No, 3,744,867I l bated August '9, 1973 Inventor( Joseph D. Shaw It is certifiedthaterror appears in the above-identified patent and that said LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 67 before "drawer" insert unit in the form of a Column 2,line 37 before "pins" insert --decoding--- Column 3, lines B z-and 35cancel "selector" and insert --coding- Column 3, line 38 after "pins"insert --38- Column 3, line 39, before "pin" insert decoding-- Column 4,lines 20, 29, 36, 50 and 63 cancel "coding" and insert decoding-- Column5, line 3 cancel "coding" and insert decoding-- Column 6, line 1 cancel"coding" and insert decoding-- Column 6, line S cancel "plugs" andinsert pins-- Signed and sealed this 20th day of November 1973.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLET0HER,JR. RENE D. TEG'I'MEYER Atte sting Officer ActingCommissioner of Patents

1. In combination with a generally rectangular cabinet having a numberof compartments therein for slidably receiving a plurality of drawerswhich includes: a. a back wall for each drawer having a lateral row ofspaced apart coding means formed thereon, b. a decoding case having anopen front and adapted to slidably receive the cabinet therethrough, c.a selector mounted for intermittent lateral movement In the rear of thecase, d. a plurality of cooperative coding means on one major face ofthe selector and each said means positioned for association with a rowof coding means on a drawer, e. indexing means between the case and theselector controlling the lateral advancement of the selector in thecase, f. and means removably mounted in predetermined positions alongthe coding means on each drawer and associated with the cooperativecoding means on the selector to slide the associated drawer out of thecabinet into an opened dispensing position when the cabinet is slid intothe case.
 2. In a dispensing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 whereinthe spaced apart coding means is a row of spaced apart holes formed insaid back wall of each drawer and the cooperative coding means are pinsmounted on the selector and each adapted to normally pass through theholes in a drawer.
 3. In a dispensing apparatus as set forth in claim 2wherein the means removably mounted in the coding means on a drawer is aremovable plug.
 4. In dispensing apparatus as set forth in claim 2wherein the means removably mounted in the coding means on a drawer is aremovable pin.
 5. In a dispensing apparatus as set forth in claim 2wherein the spaced apart coding means on each drawer is a plurality oflongitudinally spaced, lateral rows, each row being spaced at differentdistances from a lateral edge of the back wall of each drawer, and theselector is mounted for alternating the cooperative coding means thereonwith the rows of coding means on each drawer.
 6. In a dispensingapparatus: a. a cabinet containing a number of compartments, b. aplurality of dispensing units each slidably disposed in a compartment,c. a lateral wall for each unit having a lateral row of spaced apartcoding means formed thereon, d. a decoding case adapted to slidablyreceive the cabinet, e. a selector mounted for intermittent lateralmovement in the case, f. a plurality of cooperative coding means on amajor face of the selector facing the cabinet and each said meanspositioned for association with a row of coding means on the lateralwall of a unit, and g. means removably mounted in predeterminedpositions along the coding means on each lateral wall and associatedwith a cooperative coding means on the selector to move selected unitsfrom the compartments when the cabinet is slid into the case.
 7. Thedispensing apparatus set forth in claim 6 wherein the coding means onthe selector are pins extending uniform distances from the major face ofsaid selector, and the means removably mounted in predeterminedpositions along the coding means on each lateral wall of each unit areplugs having different lengths.